It’s likely that techies have seen the words Sumo Logic and security in the same sentence. However, the machine-data analytics company Sumo Logic Inc. did not set out to sell security software. Its platform’s versatility just naturally results in a tug-of-war between app-monitoring and other use cases. The company has decided not to dictate users, and instead watch and learn where to steer the platform.

Application monitoring and troubleshooting were the biggest pain points Sumo Logic set out to cure for software developers, according to Christian Beedgen (pictured), co-founder and chief technology officer of Sumo Logic. But the earliest of adopters ultimately drove the platform in another direction.

“People would bring us in and start using us for security, for log management, and those types of things, for the information management use cases in a classic way,” Beedgen said.

The company recognized the trend, but felt the strain of throwing one more ball into the juggling act. “But it was very clear that what the market wanted was a security solution that is focused in the cloud and for the cloud, and … we’ve been patiently working on that,” he added.

The company still labels itself app-monitoring and data analytics, but since those areas overlap with security tasks, the platform can now swing both ways.

Beedgen spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Sumo Logic Illuminate event in San Francisco. They discussed Sumo Logic’s two-way relationship with its customers. (* Disclosure below.)

Sensitivity training

A multi-tenant data management platform is a pretty tall order in terms of engineering, operations, etc., according to Beedgen. To fill it, the company has bulked up operations muscle and can help companies with similar challenges carry the burden.

“What we go through is exactly what our customers are going through as well,” he said. “When we have customers visit the office, they’re technical guys, engineers, operations, etc. They sit in a room, and you wouldn’t be able to tell that they’re not from Sumo.”

The company will continue to chew on customer feedback to shape the platform going forward. “We very much like our customers, and I think we can empathize tremendously,” Beedgen stated. “And I think that’s important, and that fuels a lot of what we’re doing.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Sumo Logic Illuminate event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Sumo Logic Illuminate. Neither Sumo Logic Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE